AUDIO: The Man Behind The Anti-‘Hey, Soul Sister’ Ad Campaign

He’s happy for the band. He thinks they’re great guys. He admires their success and their comeback. But if Advertising professional Keith Stoeckeler got his way, Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” would never grace another commercial again… ever.

“The song has been completely oversaturated and I was just tired of it,” Stoeckeler said Wednesday on “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “I think it just came to a boiling point one weekend where two commercials back to back featured the song and I said, ‘Yunno what? We have got to do something about this.’”
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With that, Stoeckeler launched StopAdvertisingFromPullingATrain.info. The New York City native uses the blog to highlight other points of Train’s oversaturation while taking part in a little good-hearted ribbing of the band and its success. But don’t mistake him: Stoeckeler really wants companies to cease the use of “Hey, Soul Sister” in its ads, and he’s making progress.

“I’ve been hearing from other industry peers that the blog has shown up in internal meetings when one might suggest the Train song,” he revealed of his site, which has been featured in a number of trade publications and on CNN. “Again, not my point, but I think we’re at the point where people who were not aware of the blog now are, and do not want to appear on the blog.”

Despite what you may read on the blog or perceive his comments to be, Stoeckeler insists if he ever met Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, and Scott Underwood – he’d be cordial.

“I would say congratulations, I mean let’s be honest. The legs that they’ve taken with this song have been insurmountable,” he said. “I’m sure they didn’t set out to be the number one iTunes song – so congratulations and kudos to them. But, it’s time to stop.”

Unfortunately for Stoeckeler, that seems far from the case – as Train’s “Marry Me” continues to gain online exposure and radio spins in the early part of 2011. But, at least he’ll continue to have material to blog about.